The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua forwards were the “stars” in the first 20 minutes against the Melbourne Rebels during the Round Six of the 2023 Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific season at the HFC Bank Stadium last Saturday.
Drua head coach Mick Byrne highlighted this during a press conference yesterday.
The Drua set the pace of the game early, scoring three tries and led the Rebels 19-0 in the first 20 minutes.
“Our forwards were very impressive in the first 20 minutes. The ball carries and the aggression with which they played, it was shown on the field,” he said.
Byrne said the 33-7 halftime score was not digested well with the Rebels and they came back strongly in the second half.
“The credit goes to the Rebels. They showed they are a very good side and they came at us in the second half.
“However, I am very impressed with my players. I think they stepped up and were very physical.”
He highlighted it was important to protect a scoreline of such margin right until the end and not to give in under pressure, with the Rebels scoring three tries in the second half and reducing the scoreline to 10 points after the full-time whistle.
“We got to learn from that and just understand that when we get in front like that, we have got there because we are playing a certain way and we want to help our players understand that just because the scoreboard is showing something else, it is not for us to go back and start playing loose rugby,” said Byrne.
